AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch government said on Friday
it would explore new ways of protecting its coastline from the
effects of climate change, including the use of ground-breaking
sensor technology.

The Netherlands, which has a quarter of its territory below
sea level, will spend 22 million euros ($32.7 million) on
anti-flooding projects. Companies and research organizations
will contribute an additional 23 million euros.

One project aims to equip all flood defenses with sensors
and electronics to monitor sudden changes in water levels.

"The climate changes. It is therefore of great importance
to be able to predict flooding at an early stage," the Dutch
cabinet said in a statement.

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Water has long been a threat to the Netherlands, which
translates as "Low Countries," while global warming has
contributed to a rise in sea levels, adding to flood concerns.

The world's largest computer services company IBM, one of
the firms involved in the project, said on Friday it planned to
set up a centre for water management which would use data and
forecasting models to give earlier flood warnings.

Djeevan Schiferli, Business Development Executive Climate &
Energy at IBM, said a number of different suppliers were
developing sensor networks to measure the stability of dikes
for example, but there were no standards for exchanging the
data.

"You need to combine all that knowledge and information if
you want to be able to know when a situation will become
potentially dangerous. All the different components are there,
but they are in some cases too simplistic and they're not
connected," Schiferli said.

The Dutch have a long history of pioneering technology to
help claw back land in the sea and fight flooding. In 1953 a
massive North Sea storm breached the country's dikes and killed
about 1,800.

The government also said it would invest in a project
studying how best to use the ecosystem, such as natural sand
flows, for flood protection.

U.S. officials sought advice from Dutch experts on water
management after floods devastated New Orleans in 2005, and
Dutch firms have been central in major coastal developments
worldwide.

The Dutch government said any new technology would be
available for export.